Dyadic Ties Research Articles

Cohesion Is Lower in Virtualized Collaborations: A Comparison of Teams’ Network Structure

Virtualization fundamentally changes how social relations form, but its effect on network structure in collaborative teams is poorly understood. This paper compares team networks from nine government-funded projects that were conducted virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic with 15 prepandemic projects from the same funding program. Results of our comparative analysis of 2,746 dyadic ties in 24 teams showed lower levels of network density, clustering, and structural cohesion in virtualized projects, indicating fragmented virtual teams. Furthermore, expressive networks, defined by the sharing of personal information, were affected more than instrumental networks, which revolve around the sharing of expert knowledge.

Tie strength, tie brokerage and buyer–supplier co-exploration: a novelty–action trade-off

PurposeIn the pursuit of co-exploration, the strength and brokerage dimensions of dyadic ties create a novelty–action trade-off: tie strength facilitates coordination but constraints novelty, while tie brokerage expands knowledge diversity but aggravates coordination difficulty. This study contributes towards a better understanding of this tension by comparing two dimensions of relational ties and examining their contingent values given different environmental factors and exchange characteristics.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used survey data from 194 matched buyer–supplier dyads in China's high-tech industries and employed hierarchical moderated regression analysis to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe authors find that compared with tie strength, tie brokerage has a stronger positive effect on co-exploration. Moreover, guanxi importance amplifies the effect of tie strength while decreasing the value of tie brokerage. As market uncertainty increases, the role of tie brokerage becomes more salient. Additionally, tie strength becomes less effective when buyer centralization is high, whereas tie brokerage exerts a stronger impact on co-exploration when an exchange is highly formalized.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the supply chain literature by adopting a relational perspective to integrate relational ties into the study of buyer–supplier co-exploration and by elaborating on the different implications of tie strength and tie brokerage in resolving the novelty–action trade-off. Furthermore, it provides a more nuanced understanding of when distinct dimensions of relational ties are effective, by clarifying boundary conditions in terms of environmental factors and exchange characteristics.

Indirect Trust Building: Third Parties, Uncertainty, Trust and Collaboration in Innovation Networks

In this study, we examine the trust transferring practices of network managers dealing with the challenges brought by the uncertain context of innovation networks. With a qualitative inquiry of 23 network managers and 20 network members, we investigate how network managers deal with three kinds of uncertainty challenges by relying on trust transfer to support knowledge sharing and collaboration. Our findings show that third parties mainly face contextual, expectational, and relational uncertainty challenges. Next to the dyadic ties between the managers and respective members, we identify referring, encountering, and mobilizing networking tools as essential trust transferring practices network managers use to deal with the uncertainty challenges. This study opens new avenues for indirect trust building as part of triad or collective trust, the concept of third-party facilitated trust transfer, and the recursive interplay between trust and perceived uncertainty challenges.

From Power Imbalance to Interdependence: A Case Study of the Chadian Sesame Supply Chain

Smallholder farmers are crucial actors for rural development in Africa. Their participation in global agro-food chains assures a source of revenues and agricultural development. Nevertheless, their position is still marginal. Moreover, there is a lack of data about the participation of smallholder farmers in African supply chains. The paper aims to identify the power regime between farmers, processors, middlemen and exporters and analyse how collective actions and external players’ intervention may modify the bargaining power in the sesame value chain in Eastern Chad. The analysis is based on qualitative data gathered from semi-structured interviews with 98 farmers and 41 stakeholders. The study applies a netchain perspective, analysing the vertical relationships along the food chain in terms of power regime and the horizontal relationships of farmers by observing the first impact of collective actions. The results reveal that the dyadic ties are characterised only by supplier and buyer dominance, and there are no relationships characterised by independence and interdependence along the food chain. Especially, farmers suffer from both buyer and supplier dominance. The analysis of the horizontal relationships reveals that only middlemen organise horizontal agreements to improve their benefit in the commercialisation. The introduction of collective actions for farmers improves their horizontal relationships with potential positive impact on the farmers’ vertical relationships along the supply chain. Thus, their bargaining power may be further developed. This study offers a diagnosis of the farmers’ participation in value chain and future perspectives on the collective actions.

The dyadic tie quality effect on employees’ behavioral patterns: a panacea or a misconception towards successful organizational change?

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the idea that an individual’s attitudes and beliefs toward change depend on the quality of the dyadic relationships formed through his/her ego network. Specifically, the focus of the research question is to test if an individual with high quality dyadic ties to others who have a favorable outlook on change will also have a favorable outlook on change.Design/methodology/approachThe research sample consisted of 100 full-time hotel employees working in six city hotels located in Thessaloniki, Greece. To test the research question, three approaches were used including: a descriptive social network analysis (SNA), multiple regression and homophily testing based on Moran and Geary autocorrelations.FindingsEven though the SNA provided some valuable findings on the way structures and tie quality connected the participants, the results from the regression analysis and homophily testing indicated a lack of a positive relationship linking dyadic ties and behavioral intention toward change suggesting that dyadic ties do not influence behavioral intentions in a way that can be considered favorable to change.Practical implicationsManagers need to be aware that employees’ network relationship quality at the dyadic level is insufficient to create a supportive environment toward change. Therefore, dyadic ties significant contribution through SNA is the identification of power centers, influential people, interdepartmental links and interdependencies necessary to disseminate the change message and build sustainable momentum.Originality/valueThe limited number of prior empirical studies have thus far approached relationship quality as a concept composed of either emotional, psychological or technical features. This study differs by adopting the dimensions of tangibles, empathy, responsiveness, reliability and assurance existing in the TERRA model and by determining whether the dyadic tie quality positively impacts individual behavior toward change through the employment of a tripartite examination to strengthen the validation of similarities or differences in the results.

Implementing social sustainability through market pressures: an inter-organizational network analysis in the Pakistani apparel supply chain

PurposeThis article encourages novel approaches in the SSCM literature to create transformative change for workers in developing countries' apparel supply chains. It examines how suppliers' implementation of social sustainability is moderated by buyers' pressures (through dyadic ties) and by similar suppliers' pressures (through extended ties).Design/methodology/approachThe article adopts a qualitative method design based on fieldwork and 21 face-to-face interviews with suppliers' senior managers. The data were collected between 2017 and 2020 in the factory premises of suppliers in Pakistan.FindingsThis article distinguishes the pressures that moderate suppliers' implementation of social sustainability positively (top-down encouragement, informal exchange and competitive convergence) and negatively (unrewarded commitment) through social ties. Hence, it shows how suppliers experience constrained proactivity as a state of tension.Originality/valueThe article primarily contributes to the SSCM literature by informing how similar suppliers' pressures in the business community constitute important processes of social governance and are key to create transformative change upstream in apparel supply chains. Against this backdrop, it cautions about buyers' opposite pressures and misuse of their negotiation power, which indirectly holds back and dilutes transformative change.

Muslim Leadership within Gujarat’s Congress in the 1980S

Much literature covers how the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India impacted on the political marginalisation of Muslims, while it has not been examined in sufficient depth how the internal dynamics of Congress contributed to this decline in Muslim nominations for elections. This article examines the Congress party’s organisational circumstances that affected Muslims’ electoral representation in 1980s Gujarat. It demonstrates that, along with the influence of competing Hindutva forces, the ongoing ‘deinstitutionalisation’ of the Congress party also damaged the political representation of Muslims. Interview accounts and archival documents indicate how factional fighting within Congress subverted the faction-like consolidation of the Muslim leaders’ negotiation power. The article argues that despite vertical and dyadic ties with Hindu leaders inside the party, Muslim Congressmen could not attain unified leadership to generate sufficient pressure on the party to nominate Muslims for elections.

The Relation Between Guanxi and Interpersonal Trust in the Workplace.

The relation between guanxi (particularistic dyadic ties) and trust in the workplace is widely assumed in the management and organization literature, but little research attention has been given to directly examining the nature of this relationship, or the ways in which Chinese and Western workplace trust development might differ. I suggest two overlooked factors, culture and conceptualization, that have influenced past studies and explore their impact through an analysis of the literature. Given the nature of Chinese trust, I conclude that the division between affective and cognitive aspects of trust common in the Western organizational literature is not an appropriate model for the Chinese context. Instead, I apply a distinction between rapid trust and process trust that together form a path to development of two forms of workplace guanxi: working guanxi and backdoor guanxi. I then propose a dynamic process model of the social and psychological process of guanxi and trust development in the context of the workplace that incorporates the Chinese indigenous concepts of renqing (favor), ganqing (affection), mianzi (face/reputation), xinren (trust) and xinyong (social credit). This model aligns with the Chinese metaphysical process orientation, and has implications for trust research not only in Chinese societies but also the international community.

Some Users Pack a Wallop: Measuring the Impact of Core Users on the Participation of Others in Online Social Systems

This study investigates how heavily active contributors affect recruitment and retention in online social systems. We find that core enthusiasts are more successful recruiters, their recruits are more likely to become enthusiasts, and interacting with enthusiasts makes users less likely to exit the system. We also find evidence that strong dyadic ties between non-enthusiasts help extend active careers in online social systems. Implications include considerations for community growth and retention based on the influence of these core users.

Different Discussion Partners and Their Effect on Depression among Older Adults

Although the multidimensionality of core discussion networks has been well established and widely studied, studies of the effects of social support on depression rarely consider the multifaceted aspects of dyadic discussion partner ties. This article proposes defining dyadic social relationships as a construct comprising several tie-level attributes and differentiating multiple forms of support relationships by assessing the configuration pattern of multiple attributes. The current study examines various forms of older adults’ discussion partners and identifies which form of discussion partner relationship is effective at buffering the negative effects of adverse life events on depression symptoms. Results from the University of California Social Network Survey show that older adults’ discussion partners can be classified into five distinct types of dyadic ties: spouse/romantic partners, close neighbors, remote type, social companions, and acquaintances. The discussion network with more close neighbor confidants is more effective at buffering the negative effects of adverse life events. These results offer an alternative way of investigating the differential significance of various social support relationships in mental well-being.

Integrative Perspective on Ambidexterity, Creativity and Networking: Literature Overview

Purpose: This paper is aimed at investigating the research trends about ambidexterity blended with creativity and checking whether networking could be one of the approaches making that perspective more comprehensive. Approach/Methodology/Design: Almost every industry, characterized by particular specifics provides different managerial pressures. Those tensions are the drivers of changing managerial cognition aimed at finding the balance between improving the organizational performance and value creating. Based on the literature review and database search using PRISMA protocol, we proposed integrating ambidexterity, creativity and networking in one research perspective. Findings: A detailed analysis revealed three main research areas that are discussed so far - the development of dyadic ties of individuals, multitasking approach and the evolution of social networks linking individuals. Practical Implications: There are different managerial dilemmas which are rooted in the tensions observed. Holistic perspective that is applied in this study includes managing ambidexterity to develop specific organizational abilities driven by creativity. Providing an integrative perspective where the networking is also included, would allow to find the managerial solutions to some of the paradoxes reported. Originality/Value: Although there are many research results that confirm the necessity of enhancing the level of creativeness in organizations, we proposed including the networking perspective as one of the approaches that would allow to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to build the creative potential. As a result the perspective proposed would allow to deal with the paradoxes identifies and enhance the level of ambidexterity.

The Integration of People and Networks

Social networks involve ties (and their absence) between people in social settings such as organizations. Yet much social network research, given its roots in sociology, ignores the individuality of people in emphasizing the constraints of the structural positions that people occupy. A recent movement to bring people back into social network research draws on the rich history of social psychological research to show that ( a) personality (i.e., self-monitoring) is key to understanding individuals’ occupation of social network positions, ( b) individuals’ perceptions of social networks relate to important outcomes, and ( c) relational energy is transmitted through social network connections. Research at different levels of analysis includes the network around the individual (the ego network), dyadic ties, triadic structures, and whole networks of interacting individuals. We call for future research concerning personality and structure, social network change, perceptions of networks, and cross-cultural differences in how social network connections are understood.

From idea endorsement to idea implementation: A multilevel social network approach toward managerial voice implementation

Endorsing employee voice is one thing; implementation of endorsed ideas is another. Although organizational research has paid increasing attention to examining managers’ psychological endorsement of employee voice, the factors that can affect managers’ actual implementation of endorsed employee voice remain unclear. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior, we develop a conceptual model of managerial voice implementation and conceptualize it as a manager’s planned behavior that is affected by the manager’s motivation, felt obligation, and perceived control in relation to implementation. We further apply social network approaches to explain how social network characteristics across multiple levels in the team (i.e. dyadic ties, network centrality, and network closure) can facilitate the manager’s psychological impetus for voice implementation – transforming endorsed voice into managerial practices in the workplace. Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications of this manager-centric and social network-based framework of managerial voice implementation.

The Geometry of Continuous Latent Space Models for Network Data.

We review the class of continuous latent space (statistical) models for network data, paying particular attention to the role of the geometry of the latent space. In these models, the presence/absence of network dyadic ties are assumed to be conditionally independent given the dyads' unobserved positions in a latent space. In this way, these models provide a probabilistic framework for embedding network nodes in a continuous space equipped with a geometry that facilitates the description of dependence between random dyadic ties. Specifically, these models naturally capture homophilous tendencies and triadic clustering, among other common properties of observed networks. In addition to reviewing the literature on continuous latent space models from a geometric perspective, we highlight the important role the geometry of the latent space plays on properties of networks arising from these models via intuition and simulation. Finally, we discuss results from spectral graph theory that allow us to explore the role of the geometry of the latent space, independent of network size. We conclude with conjectures about how these results might be used to infer the appropriate latent space geometry from observed networks.

Developing relationship management strategies in a network context

In today’s turbulent business environment, firms are becoming increasingly interdependent and are no longer expected to compete simply as an isolated business entity. The firm’s boundaries continue to extend as they out- source to reach out to one another’s resources across the Supply Chain (SC). The SCs have often been considered as a series of independent organizations which are connected through dyadic ties, often conceptualized as a sim- ple linear system. Although this linear perception of dyadic interactions is worthy of investigation, it does not represent the realities of today’s complex SCs. A firm is a part of the overall network, and its business strategies depend on its embeddedness in the network structure and how it interacts with other participants. Accordingly, in analyzing the firms’ business environment, firms should not be considered in isolation but as being embedded in the network context. As a result, to effectively implement strategies, firms need to address issues in their Supply Chain Network (SCN) and develop effective relationships with different SCN actors to gain necessary resources that are not possessed by themselves. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate and analyze the cur- rent Relationship Management Strategies (RMS) that firms apply to govern the whole SCN. The paper conducts a comprehensive review of Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) and SCN literature to explore how firms de- velop relationships with various actors with the SCN. The findings reveal that the linear perspective is not enough to truly understand the SC and emphasize that firms need to consider a network perspective to analyze their SC, which paves the way to shift from the SC towards an SCN context. By providing the main distinctions between an SCN and an SC, this paper also clarifies the actor’s characteristics of the SCN and enhances the understanding of the SCN actor. It furthermore identifies different existing RMS models that firms apply to manage their SCN, synthesizing knowledge involving the RMS and SCN. Finally, by outlining further research directions this paper alerts researchers, for example, to investigate RMS in the network context while considering various contingency variables in their future research.

Clique to Win? Impact of Simmelian Ties on Collaborative Project Performance

Large infrastructure and public works projects require resources not often found in individual firms. Competitive bidding motivates contractors to form partnerships with subcontractors to win and implement such projects. Projects with no prior interactions between partners tend to develop structural holes, providing the coordinating contractors with brokering privileges. But through repeated project interactions communication and trust develops giving rise to cohesive clique networks and Simmelian ties. Instead of asymmetric power structures, cliques develop group norms and constrain opportunistic behavior by members. How do these two different collaborative arrangements engaging distinct network microstructures impact project outcomes? This study examines the role of network structures on collaborative project outcomes in a novel setting where multiple firms collaborate and compete to win and execute projects. Multi-year longitudinal network analysis of public infrastructure projects implemented in the State of California, reveal that compared to dyadic ties, Simmelian ties and network closure between team members help thwart external competition and internal opportunistic behavior leading to favorable project outcomes. Our empirical results contribute to network theory and multipartner alliance formation by examining the dynamics of inter-firm collaborative network structures and subsequent effect on collaborative work.

Triads

Triads examine the associations among three actors, involving, at a minimum, the analysis of two dyadic ties among three interrelated actors. By making apparent the indirect ties bearing on actors, the triad is the smallest unit of analysis for a network. Despite extensive conceptual and empirical work, little systematic attention is given to the triad in the marketing literature. This article reviews literature spanning multiple academic disciplines and makes three contributions. First, it provides an overview of the triad concept combining sociological insights with more recent work emerging in operations management and marketing. Second, the article identifies three distinct forms of triadic relationships in existing literature: (1) brokerage, focused on the action of the third between two others; (2) mediation, describing different mechanisms by which a dyadic relationship affects and is affected by a relationship with a third party; and (3) coalition, capturing the configuration and evolution of ties in the three-actor system as a whole. Finally, this article develops an initial research agenda for triadic marketing research.

Extended Understanding of Dyadic Friendship Using Fuzzy Measures: a Simulation Approach

Friendship formation between a pair of individuals (dyads) and its dynamics is a complex phenomenon that has been extensively studied in the literature. Assortative, relational, and proximity mechanisms are the recognized social processes that are responsible for the formation of these dyadic ties. In this paper, we develop an agent-based model that derives its essence from social processes, fuzzy game theory, and social network analysis. The process of dyadic friendship formation depends on the agent’s (participant’s) spatial configuration, attributes affecting friendship, and interaction with other agents. To model these interactions, we use fuzzy iterated prisoner’s dilemma (Fuzzy-IPD) utilizing the decision factors contributing to similar social processes. These strategies have been independently discussed in previously published studies. We, however, use them in combination to design a descriptive model with different experimental settings in an ad-hoc simulation framework. Using an integrationist approach, we blend multiple individual components of friendship formation to construct a comprehensive model. The analysis of the model thus developed reveals a possible interaction pattern responsible for the evolution of the layered associations. This paper further validates various levels of friendship ties (strong ties, medium ties, and weak ties) in social networks as reported in the published sociological studies.

All in the family: The link between kin network bridging and cardiovascular risk among older adults

While considerable work has examined the association between social relationships and health, most of this research focuses on the relevance of social network composition and the quality of dyadic ties. In this study, I consider how the social network structure of ties among older adults' close family members may affect cardiovascular health in later life. Using data from 938 older adults that participated in Waves 1 and 2 of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), I test whether older adults who occupy bridging positions among otherwise disconnected or poorly connected kin in their personal social network are more likely to present elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a biomarker for cardiovascular risk. Results indicate that occupying a bridging position among family members is significantly associated with elevated CRP. This effect is unique to bridging kin network members. These findings suggest that ties among one's closest kin may generate important resources and norms that influence older adults' health, such that bridging kin network members may compromise physical wellbeing. I discuss these results in the context of prior work on social support, family solidarity, and health in later life.

Creative performance in the workplace: The roles of Simmelian ties and communication media

This study examines the impacts of three attributes of dyadic ties – Simmelian advice ties, Simmelian friendship ties, and communication media mix (i.e. the ratio of computer-mediated communication (CMC) to face-to-face (FTF) communication) – on the generation of creative ideas. A paper-based network survey was conducted in an R&D department that has a high demand for creative works. The findings showed that Simmelian advice ties and communication media mix have positive impacts on the generation of creative ideas. Moreover, the positive impact of Simmelian advice ties is amplified when two employees engage in more FTF communication than CMC. Additionally, Simmelian friendship ties have a significant and positive impact on the generation of creative ideas when two employees engage in more CMC than FTF communication. We discuss both the theoretical and practical contributions of this study based on these findings.